Help! My chickens are eating their eggs!

[chickenpatty]

It has gotten really bad - as soon as an egg is laid, they all swarm over and devour it!

 

They aren't over-crowded and are getting plenty of food.

 

How can I break them of this? Or, does anyone have links to nest box plans that allow the egg to roll out of sight of the chickens?

[Marsha]

Do you add calcium to their diet?

[Jann in TX]

Add a supplement to their feed (until you get some you can toss them your cracked egg shells..)

[celticmom]

Crushed oyster shells is an excellent calcium supplement. Is it safe to give them eggshells? I was afraid of causing the egg eating habit if I gave them shells.

[DarlaS]

Crushed oyster shells is an excellent calcium supplement. Is it safe to give them eggshells? I was afraid of causing the egg eating habit if I gave them shells.

 

My mom used to feed her chickens eggshells back to them. I don't recall any egg eating (among the chickens) going on. She dried them, crushed them and mixed them into their feed.

[kwickimom]

Yes you can feed egg shells and even cooked eggs, but once they get a taste of raw eggs, they will eat theirs. I agree they seem calcium deprived.

 

We had one chicken that insisted on eating her eggs no matter what, she made a yummy dinner! :)

[Susan in KY]

My mom used to feed her chickens eggshells back to them.... She dried them, crushed them and mixed them into their feed.

 

This is what we do. I also toast them a bit in the skillet to totally change the flavor. It works fine. We also add crushed oyster shells.

 

Susan

[Tenaj]

We've had chickens who have done this (maybe not quite as enthusiastically as yours are). What we've done is we send someone out every hour or every half-hour during the day to collect the eggs. It seems that we catch them quick enough then that they don't eat the eggs and break the habit. Can you let them free range during the day? We've also done that when we're having trouble and it gets them interested in bugs and such and distracts them from the eggs.

[DarlaS]

This is what we do. I also toast them a bit in the skillet to totally change the flavor. It works fine. We also add crushed oyster shells.

 

Susan

 

Good idea! I may start doing this for our chickens (to prevent this from happening here).

 

My mom may have dried them in the oven. I can't recall, so I'll be sure to ask her what she did. I just know we never had this problem and she fed them back their eggshells.

[chickenpatty]

Thanks all! Dh went out and got them some oyster shell stuff. I hope this will help!

[Lara in Colo]

I went to a "farm museum" and they cooked the eggs in an oven before giving them the chickens.

 

Lara

[LauraGB]

So...wait. Chickens have cannibalistic tendencies? I had no idea.

[kokotg]

So...wait. Chickens have cannibalistic tendencies? I had no idea.

 

Chickens will eat anything that doesn't eat them first :lol:

[Mesa]

My chickens gobbled up 3 chicks before I could catch the broody hen and save the rest of her chicks.... chickens are very cannibalistic!

 

I had to get an egg and hollow it out, then I put hot sauce into the egg and sealed the hole with wax. I put that nasty egg back into the coop.... so I could catch the culprit chicken. Yep she pecked it and got hot sauce all over her mouth and feet.

She only did that a couple times before she gave up eating eggs.

[LauraGB]

Chickens will eat anything that doesn't eat them first :lol:

 

I knew they ate bugs, and mice if they could catch them. But this gives a whole new perspective on the already questionable "vegetarian diet" on the carton label at the store. :001_huh:

 

I admit it. I am almost 40 years old and chickens are a complete enigma to me.

 

The things I learn on this forum...my goodness.

[kokotg]

I knew they ate bugs, and mice if they could catch them. But this gives a whole new perspective on the already questionable "vegetarian diet" on the carton label at the store. :001_huh:

 

 

When you really need to be suspicious if if they claim the chickens are free range AND have a vegetarian diet. You can do one or the other, but not both!

[Teachin'Mine]

My eyes have been opened about so many things on this forum!!! :ohmy: :lol:

[RoughCollie]

Chickens will eat anything that doesn't eat them first :lol:

 

They are like teenage boys!

[Liz CA]

Crushed oyster shells is an excellent calcium supplement. Is it safe to give them eggshells? I was afraid of causing the egg eating habit if I gave them shells.

 

As long as you crush the shells and they cannot see an "egg", they won't know what they are eating.

[Melissa in Australia]

My dh puts dolomite in the chooks water.

 

If the extra calcium in their diet doesn't help, you will need to cull the chooks and start over . Once they get in the habit, it can be impossible to break.

[Pongo]

:lol::lol: